Attitudes to Immigration

Immigration continues to be one of the most topical and pressing political issues in Europe, with voters in many countries rating it high on the political agenda, and new ‘radical right’ political parties which oppose immigration emerging in many countries. With continuing high levels of labour migration to many western European countries, as well as continuing pressure to accept refugees and asylum seekers from war zones around the world, this topic is unlikely to lose its significance in the foreseeable future.

In CSI’s first research report on this topic, we document the overall levels of support, or lack of support, for immigration and how this has changed over the last decade or so. We also examine the criteria that publics from a set of 21 European countries rate as important or unimportant for immigrants. For example, do people consider religious background to be important? Or are economic factors such as education and work skills deemed to matter more? Along similar lines, we will also investigate the extent to which publics differentiate between different types of migrant and we will also show differences in attitudes by age, sex, and socioeconomic status.